2/23/2016

Verizon 5G network now in mobile field tests, to be ready in 2017

5G is all the darn rage these days. Three of the US’s top-tier carriers have committed to developing the technology including Verizon.

The company took the time at MWC to promote its efforts in collaboration with Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung to develop and test every aspect of its 5G standard with regards to speed, latency and scale. Some goals include bringing gigabit wireless broadband to homes, high-traffic concentrations and commercial purposes like telemedicine and mobile blueprinting.

Testing is expected to expand over the course of the year. Verizon expects that it and several partner operators in Asia will roll out a 5G network starting next year.

It’ll be interesting to see how millions of users will make a dent in those 500+ Mbps theoretical speeds. It’ll also be interesting to see how T-Mobile wants to address its 5G first-impact forecasts for a “2020” arrival.